Magi
Along with the Techs and Brutes , the Magi are one of three races among the humans in the Elemental Shattering universe. Instead of intellectually harnessing elements through technology or using elemental artifacts to augment their physical prowess, the Magi spiritually connect with the elements in their environment. After departing Earth fleeing persecution, the Magi settled on the planet Sirius , orbiting its namesake sun. History On Earth The magi, like all three races among humans in Elemental Shattering, originated on Earth at a time when there was no distinction between magi , techs , and brutes , before any knowledge of the prime elements existed. Through the slow process of like-minded gathering in communities and reproducing, the ability to sense the elements at work around them eventually led to the first magi being able to subtly manipulate their environment. Early records speak of individuals lifting raw flame away from fires for short periods, or moving droplets of water uphilll along a metal surface without touching it. Different individuals found affinities for each element in different levels; some were able to manipulate all three Primes, some could only handle one Prime, and many were stronger in one than the other two. The structure of the Primes was quickly evidenced by how much simpler it was to manipulate fire, air, and water than any other substance; similarly, smoke, earth, and ice were more difficult than Primes but significantly easier than other mixtures of elements. Eventually, adepts were able to tell what combination of elements needed to be modified together to manipulate a given element, and the art of the Magi was born. As might be expected, the ability to supernaturally control their environment led to much excitement among Magi, and they were quick to share their discoveries. Unfortunately, instead of drawing praise and excitement throughout humankind, the military powers feared what they could not control and, after a short period of attempting to integrate magi into normal life, the Magi were ostracized and fled to communities of other Magi for protection. Using a combination of all three Prime elements, the Magi developed means to open portals allowing them to quickly pass between communities, allowing them to escape danger quickly. Upon discovering the powers of the Magi and their battle effectiveness, the rest of mankind sought for a technological way to access these same elements. Already a religious respect of the elements was widespread among the Magi, leading them to despise the secular approach to controlling the elements. This further exacerbated the conflict, as Magi sought to destroy the research facilities of the technologists. Finding a New Home As hostilities against Magi grew, increasingly activist Magi struck out, causing greater backlash from common humankind. As persecution increased, the Magi communities banded together and fled to larger communities, until the only safety on all of Earth for a magus was in a single location. Fearing for when the wrath of world governments would come upon them, the Magi earnestly worked to develop a means to open a massive portal allowing them to travel away from Earth itself. Since the education of the Magi in general had decayed somewhat, they turned to the heavens to find the brightest, and supposedly nearest, star, around which they might find safe haven. They selected the brightest star in the sky, Sirius , and put all efforts into opening a grand portal that would lead them to safety. Eventually the armies of men stormed the country of the Magi, only to find empty streets. Rooting through the remains of the Magi civilization, they were able to determine the desire of the Magi to flee to what they called the "nearest extraterrestrial home", and misunderstood their destination to be around the nearest star, Alpha Centauri . This began the effort of the techonologically-minded to escape to the stars and discover what had become of the Magi. Settling Sirius tbc Magi Society tbc *Education *Social Structure *Naturalist/Scholars *Intercommunity *Intracommunity *World/Nation/Community government Association with Elements Magi revere elements as the supernatural source of their mystical powers. The Scholar Magi , who dominate the education of the Magi population, teach a regimen of austerity and restraint when drawing on elemental powers; nevertheless, all magi are taught the basics of drawing on elements to alter their environment, both for peaceful and wartime purposes. The Magi value the elements across the board; however, there are two main schools of thought pertaining to the ultimate use of the elements. Scholar Magi seek to commune with the elements just enough to revere them and to draw on them in their daily lives. As with the Techs , the Magi as often draw on elements for warfare as for changing their day-to-day experiences; however, because of their reverence for elements, scholars tend to avoid drawing on elements too much, and live austere lives as a result. However, when the cause is justified, they have no qualms drawing heavily on elements. The second, and much less common, school of thought amongst the Magi are the Naturalists , who seek to draw as deeply on elements as possible at all times, radically changing their environment. Naturalists tend to choose a particular blend of the Prime elements, often purely a single Prime. As their experience with their chosen element develops, a naturalist magus will start to exhibit that element both in appearance and temperament. The naturalist who draws deeply enough on their element will eventually become more element than magus, and, in extreme cases, become an Elemental , a pure expression of the element. Often an Elemental's behavior shows little sentience, and many scholarly magi argue the original being has been completely consumed.